Vermont Was First State to Ban Chinese Tech But Can Do More

On February 16, Vermont’s Agency of Digital Services issued Cybersecurity Update Standard 2023-1 adding TikTok and WeChat to the list of technology products including Chinese manufacturers and telecom equipment its state agencies are prohibited from acquiring. Originally outlined in a 2019 directive, Vermont was the first state to enact a ban of this kind. China Tech Threat (CTT) commends this leadership and urges Vermont to take additional action to prohibit the purchase of dangerous Chinese government-owned technology from Lexmark and Lenovo.   CTT’s recent research reveals that unlike many other states, Vermont has had no direct spending on this risky technology from these two companies since 2015. Prohibiting any future purchases is imperative because China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law obligates Lexmark… Read More